Special worlds need special effects. And Game of Thrones owes a lot of its on-screen magic to computer-generated imagery (CGI). "The special effects as a department brings to a production the chaos and mayhem," Sam Conway, the show's special effects supervisor, said in HBO's newly-released clip detailing just what goes into the show's.
But the network's video gives a glimpse of a pre-CGI Game of Thrones, and it's truly something:
The highlight in it is Daenerys', played by Emilia Clarke, performance with pre-CGI dragons. Here's what it actually looks like when she strokes one (via Uproxx):
Versus the final product:
And here's what it looks like when Clarke is shot riding a dragon. Her face here—and its unbreakable focus—must be applauded:
Makes you really appreciate the final product more, huh?
